Edgars Gym Fit Campaign Causes a Stir

Edgars is a well-known South African brand. As one of the oldest retail brands in South Africa, Edgars has established a reputation as a trusted and reliable store. Its products and services offer customers quality and convenience.

The retailer offers a variety of products such as women’s wear, men’s wear and sports gear.

In early 2017, Edgars released an online media campaign called “Gym Fit” for their fitness gear.

In the campaign, a young model is seen wearing an Edgars fitness outfit.

The Edgars Gym Fit campaign received a lot of backlash from customers. Edgars’ Instagram post received comments relating to the model used in the campaign, some calling her “anorexic”.

The Edgars –sponsored advert on Instagram caused controversy, with followers calling out the local fashion brand for making women “feel horrible about themselves”.

In response to the backlash, Edgars said they work with various models and “we wish to state that it is not our intention for any of our marketing campaigns to offend any of our customers. Edgars ensures that it complies with both ethical and moral standards when it comes to campaigns. At the same time we promote self-acceptance first and we aim to reflect that in all of our current and future marketing campaigns”.

A direct response to the criticism on the Edgars Gym Fit post from Edgars said:

“Thank you for the feedback. As a brand, we endeavour to reflect body positivity and support people of all body types. We are also committed to using models who represent all South Africans. However, please remember that our model is a person too and these comments are hurtful. We do not condone body shaming of any sort, this community is about building people up and we’d like everyone to use it to instil confidence in each other.”